Coming Home sequel to Future Together
by Todd's Pet
Summary: This is the conclusion of Todd and Laurie's story - again unashamedly romantic and a bit of a tear-jerker but with I hope a satisfying ending for true Todd lovers!
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes:

Here it is – the long awaited sequel to Todd and Laurie's story, Future Together – you'll need to read that first! It's even more romantic than the first part and is a real tear jerker – keep a box of Kleenex handy!

At first I got myself tied up in knots with the time line… I needed their kids to be adults by the time they got back, but it didn't make sense to me for them to be away all that time, so I cheated and made wraith children grow up real fast! If you're the scientific kind and that bothers you – tough! – it's only a plot device, so don't get hung up about it!

Likewise with the passing of time… it's only roughly, I didn't get a calendar out! So Jack was born approx 9 months after Todd and Laurie met (Todd's a fast worker!) he was about 2 or 3 when they left, they were away about 2 years, the war lasted about 3 years… so the whole story from beginning to end spans about 8 or 9 years. Roughly.

And Laurie and both her kids end the story in their early twenties, even though she started out as nearly fifty –go figure! It's fiction and Wraith can do anything!

I also deliberately kept Jack and Chris casual and approachable, so for example they refer to Todd and Laurie as Mom and Dad, not Mother and Father, simply because that's how I saw them. As for their names – I explain Laurie's reasons in the story, my own reasons are that these names mean something to me so I don't care whether you like them or not!

Again I make no apologies for humanising Todd as much as I have. In my world Todd is capable of the deepest love and compassion (especially for me since, if you haven't guessed by now, Laurie is me!)

I will not have my Todd any other way – so there!

**Coming Home**

**Sequel to Future Together**

**Chapter 1**

It takes every ounce of will power Laurie has not to rip the Iratus off him and grind it into the dirt with the heel of her boot.

It's as plain as the snarl contorting his features that he's in great pain. With her telepathic link to him now stronger than ever, she can feel his pain, albeit just a shadow of what he's actually feeling himself, but it's enough for her to know it to be far more excruciating than he would ever allow her to see.

He leans back, exhausted from enduring, and weakly points to the cave entrance. This time she does not defy him for she cannot bear to watch him like this a moment longer.

She turns on her heel and marches out of the cave without a word or a look.

She's angry, but at what she has no idea. Is she angry with him for doing this? It's hardly his fault that this is his only recourse. Is she angry with herself for not being able to do anything more to help? What else can she do except just be here for him? Or is she just angry at the universe for putting them in this position in the first place? Why does fate have to be so cruel?

It's taken them months to find this planet and even now they still don't know if it will work.

It's cold and damp and dark outside, the full moons staring balefully down at her like two big sad eyes. Their dim glow sheds little light on the lonely little planet and she can see storm clouds brewing on the horizon, so she stays close to the cave. She paces back and forth, back and forth, wringing her hands. She just does not know what to do with herself while she waits to see if Todd will live or die.

**-oOo-**

She huddles just inside the cave mouth, reluctant to go back inside when he had already sent her out until this thing is done. But the storm is getting closer. She can see the rain falling in straight sheets across the fields they had just come from, connecting the land and the sky with slanting black lines like hatch marks in charcoal pencil.

The rain is still several miles away but she can feel the occasional drop blown into her face by the rising wind. Her long, white hair is whipped around her face and she has to hold it back with one hand to see the progress of the storm as she holds her coat around her with the other hand.

Without warning a streak of lightning flashes across the night sky at the same time as the loudest crash of thunder she has ever heard in her life rolls apparently directly overhead.

She cannot stop herself from cowering inside the cave. Normally, back home on earth, she would have stood outside to revel at being in the midst of the storm, defying the power of nature. But that seems so long ago now, and this storm is like nothing she has ever seen before.

As she watches from her inadequate shelter she thanks all the gods for answering her prayers when she sees the storm veer off to the left and knows that it will pass them by.

**-oOo-**

After several hours that feel like centuries she can be patient no longer and strides towards the cave. She stops suddenly when she sees a tall shadow emerging from the entrance. As Todd steps slowly into the dim moonlight she's aware that she's holding her breath…

When his face emerges into the light she can see the glint in his eyes. Relief floods through her and she throws herself at him and flings her arms around him, burying her face – and her tears of relief – in his chest.

He takes a step back as she knocks him slightly off balance – he is still weak from the pain of the treatment – but she can also sense that he is no longer dying. He is healthy, whole again.

Todd wraps his arms around her and holds her tightly for a moment. He can feel her relief, palpable, like a separate entity. How can he tell her, he wonders?

But he doesn't need to tell her. Once her relief has washed over her, he can feel her take back control of her own emotions and calm herself. And when she does his thoughts are open to her again. She stands back and looks up at him.

"You are _fully_ recovered?" she asks and slowly lifts his right hand and turns it palm-upward. Even in the dim moonlight she can see it clearly – Todd needs to feed again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She doesn't know why Todd being fully Wraith again should make her feel uneasy; after all, she spent many months around him, often alone with him, when he was such before their sons were born.

But this time she is aware of something, some kind of premonition, lurking in the back of her mind, something deep and dark that she doesn't want to look at, not just yet.

She knows that Todd is aware of her uneasy thoughts, for he does not hold her hand as they walk like he would usually do. He strides on ahead of her and she picks her way through the undergrowth in the dark, following the tall shadow of him a few feet ahead.

His mind is closed to her and this in itself tells her that he is afraid of what might lie ahead for them.

She shivers and knows it's not the cold of the night making her do so.

Her heart sinks even further when they reach the star gate. Even from several yards away in the dark they can see that something is wrong – the dome of the central console is broken, glowing a sickly dull red, and there are wisps of smoke curling around its base.

"The storm!" Laurie gasps, "The dial has been struck by lightning!"

"Do not despair yet, I may be able to repair it," Todd says calmly though betraying his thoughts with the word "yet".

Laurie runs over to the bottom of the stairs in front of the gate where they left their supplies and returns with two backpacks.

"In that one," Todd tells her and she opens it with trembling fingers, praying with all her strength that there will be some tool in there that will allow Todd to repair the gate.

**-oOo-**

Laurie sleeps fitfully as Todd continues to try to repair the star gate. He has been at it for hours now and his frustration is starting to show. He throws the tool he is using at the console and it bounces off and hits a rock with a loud clang.

Laurie stirs and rubs her eyes sleepily. "No luck yet?" she asks him.

Todd merely grunts.

"It'll be light soon, maybe that will help," she suggests, trying to sound positive.

"It is only light for an hour or two on this planet. Besides I can see perfectly well in the dark," Todd says brusquely, reminding her that he is fully Wraith again as well as warning her that his temper is running short.

"Well, I could use some daylight, so while it's light I'll go and try to find some foo–" she cuts herself short as she realizes what she said. "I'll bring back water if I find it," she says.

Todd simply grunts again and goes back to work on the star gate dial.

Laurie steals a look back as she wanders off, watching him working and wondering if they will ever be happy again.

**-oOo-**

Todd spends all his time trying to repair the star gate. Laurie spends all her time trying to find food, leaving him to rummage through all their gear looking for communications equipment, parts, anything he can rig up or cannibalize that might be able to send a signal off the planet.

It's been several weeks now and Laurie reckons it's more important for her to stay out of his way – as well as trying to keep up her own strength… just in case…

Although she manages to find enough water on this damp and dark planet to slake her thirst, there is precious little in the way of food; a few berries and roots, which she eats hungrily out of sight of Todd. She knows he must be starting to feel real hunger by now and finds herself wondering how long he can go on before it starts to affect him… and what she'll do when that time comes.

Even as the hunger starts to burn in him Todd nevertheless finds himself thinking how beautiful she is: her hair glows the same silver as the moonlight that illuminates it; her pale skin is broken by the dark shadows of freckles in place of viper pits; and her eyes in the gloomy darkness are almost all deep round black pupil, just barely rimmed with glittering gold.

"Does the hunger burn badly?" she asks sympathetically.

"Not yet," he lies.

She sighs deeply and reaches into her coat, drawing out a small package, which she holds out on the palm of her hand for him to see.

"There's something I should tell you…" she says.

**-oOo-**

"No! I will not allow it!" Now Todd is the one pacing back and forth in front of the cave mouth. "How did you manage to plan this without my knowledge?"

"Because it wasn't planned, at least not until the last minute," she says. "Surely you can see I have no choice? If we are to be together…" She lets the implication hang in the air.

"I've been hungry around humans before," Todd says dismissively. "And your being Wraith would change nothing, we would simply both have to feed."

"I know full well that you will refuse to feed on me. But you should know that I will try everything to force you to do so rather than watch you die!" Laurie cries, her concern for him making her voice tremble. "Jennifer says that this gene therapy drug cannot make me fully Wraith – I won't need to feed – but my having Wraith DNA can make me strong enough to endure you feeding on me… We cannot be together any other way now. I must do this."

"No! Listen to me, woman!" Todd's anger – no, his fear for her, she realizes – is clear in his voice. "While there is no way off this planet there is no way for a Wraith to feed. I have endured hunger for many months before, so I can do it again. You cannot; it would serve no purpose for you to become Wraith."

"No, you listen to me, Wraith!" Her own mixture of anger and fear is strong enough for her to stand up to him even when he is like this. "This drug will not make me need to feed – not unless I also take the Iratus treatment as you did. If I just take the drug it will merely make me strong enough to allow you to feed on me – just enough to keep you alive until we figure out a way to get off this planet."

"No," Todd says, "I will not feed on you, no matter what." The way he says this, quietly and calmly, tells her he will not change his mind.

She gives in to her despair and allows herself to slump forward. Todd steps up to hold her, stroking her long soft hair and crooning gently to her – not words, for there are no words to say, just soothing sounds of comfort. He sighs as he senses her hopelessness.

"No, it is not hopeless," he tells her. "We will find a way off this planet before there is need for me to feed. We will return to Atlantis. They will help us."

"And if we can't?"

"Then we will have to think of another plan


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"It has been months now, you must feed…"

"I will not feed on you," Todd answers sullenly, but she knows it's getting harder and harder for him.

"You're growing weak, you can't concentrate properly. How are we ever going to get off this planet if you can't focus because of hunger? Please, Todd, I'm willing, I'm offering myself to you…"

With a loud roar, Todd suddenly stands up and spins around to face her. What she sees in his eyes frightens her; he is truly struggling with himself.

"Do not!" he shouts at her, "Do not tempt me like this! I gave my word – I will not feed on you!"

Confused, Laurie asks, "To who? You never promised me that, I never asked it of you. Who did you promise?"

"Argh! It does not matter any more," Todd says and strides off to the cave they have made into their temporary home.

Undeterred, Laurie follows him inside. She's getting used to the almost permanent darkness on this planet and sees him at the back of the cave straight away.

She sighs deeply and resolutely and, taking his right hand in hers with trembling fingers, places his hand flat on her chest.

"You must," she says, "Even just a little…"

He can sense that she's afraid, but he also sees the absolute trust in her eyes and it tears him apart.

The hunger is burning deep within him now, feeling almost unquenchable, and here is what he needs to satisfy that hunger, literally offering herself to him.

But how can he? He loves her! Can he trust himself to stop?

He can feel the pulse of life beating strongly under her skin and his feeding hand throbs unbearably with the heat of her beneath it. He turns his head away from her, refusing to feed, but she keeps a firm grip of his wrist, holding his hand against her chest.

He throws his head back in despair, the battle with himself raging fiercely within his mind.

But when he turns to look at her again, there is a red gleam in his golden eyes and, finally, he digs his claws into her flesh and the fire explodes in her chest as he begins to feed.

Her life force is strong, he can feel the strength of her will to survive flowing through his veins like a drug; the defiance he loves so much in her is sweet, unbearably sweet.

He sees the pain etched in her face as he drains her very being from her, year by agonizing year.

No! He must stop! Now!

Oh, but the taste of her is so very good…

He grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut.

No! He must look at her, look her in the eyes! No more! Stop now!

Just a little more…

As she lets her head hang back she grips his arms and the movement makes him open his eyes. What he sees jolts him back and he rips his hand from her chest.

He sits there, dazed, looking at his bloodied palm as if it were an entity separate from him, and one that has just betrayed him.

Laurie slumps forward, weak from pain and drained of decades of her life force. She sways a little then falls sideways into Todd's arms.

Ineffectually he wipes at the bloodied scar on her chest with his hand and only succeeds in smearing the blood further. He tries to smooth her hair and smears the silver strands with blood. He strokes the soft skin of her cheek and smears that with blood too.

Covered in her own blood and lying limp in his arms, she looks as if she were dead. But in the deep, dark silence he hears the barest whisper of her breathing and thanks the gods that he managed to stop in time.

A shaft of moonlight seeps into the cave as the clouds move away from the two moons and he sees the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. He's taken back all that he gave her when they first met, and more, much more.

He looks down at her blood streaked face and hair and hates himself; he is a creature of blood and pain, unable even to keep a promise not to harm the one he loves.

He pulls her limp body close and rocks back and forth, holding her tightly, his head turned to look through the cave mouth at the full moons. They glare their baleful light at him as if passing judgment on what he has just done. They do not need to, for he has already judged himself far too harshly and he cannot stop his tears from flowing as he howls his outrage to the moons.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

For several days Todd barely speaks to her. She knows he's angry about feeding on her. At first she wonders if he blames her for pushing him, for making him do it when she knew he didn't want to. But during those few moments when he's too weak to shield his mind from her, she can sense that it's himself he's angry with. She's just the only one around he can take it out on.

She endures it as cheerfully as she can, as she now knows that she would endure anything she had to do for Todd's sake.

Stupidly, in her concern for him, she had forgotten to take the gene therapy drug that Jennifer had given her. So his feeding took at least 30 years from her – she's older now than she was when they first met back on earth all those years ago before he gave her her youth back!

It feels like several lifetimes ago now.

She sighs as she tries to push aside the thought that they might both die here on this dark and hateful planet and forces her old and aching bones to get up again and go and look for food.

**-oOo-**

When she gets back Todd has finished cobbling together a basic signal device.

"I should be able to send a distress beacon from this, but I don't know how far it will travel, or even if there are any ships close enough to hear it…" She is by now used to Todd swinging rapidly between hope and despair and, as she has done for weeks now, she tries to keep him positive.

"I'm certain someone will hear it soon," she tells him as cheerfully as she can muster.

"I only had my own equipment… the signal is in Wraith…"

"I don't know about you," she says, "but I don't mind much who rescues us!"

**-oOo-**

Many more weeks pass and Todd resolutely refuses to feed on her again, even when she says she'll take the gene therapy drug to strengthen her and reduce the impact of the years he takes.

They are both very weak and just as Laurie resigns herself to the fact that if they will probably both die here, Todd comes into the cave looking grave.

"I have had a response to my signal," he says.

"But that is good news!" she replies, "Why do you look so worried?"

"It is a Wraith hive ship… a _fully_ Wraith hive ship… with a Queen."

"Ah," Laurie says, understanding his concern. There is no way she will survive ten minutes on a queen-ruled feeding Wraith hive ship in the condition she's in now.

**-oOo-**

"It's the only way…"

"But it could be the death of you… I have weakened you too much from feeding on you," he says, the self-reproach clear in his voice.

"And going on to that hive as I am will be the death of me for certain," she argues, trying to ease his guilt.

Todd expels his breath through his nose in a long sigh; he knows how stubborn she can be. "I do not like this," he tells her, "But I know your mind is made up and I cannot stop you."

"It takes one to know one," Laurie says, smiling, and her comment makes Todd relax, she can feel it in his mind as well as seeing it in the little half-smile he gives her.

"You will not do this alone," he tells her insistently, making it clear there will be no discussion. "You will not be able to detach the Iratus alone – if it does not go well, I will stop it, whether it is finished or not."

"Very well," Laurie agrees and busies herself with rolling up her sleeve and injecting herself with the gene therapy drug, trying not to think about what she is about to try to do.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Laurie cannot believe how much the hunger burns, searing through every fiber of her being. Todd is holding her upright as she stumbles through the undergrowth to the arranged rendezvous point with the Wraith dart.

If this is how it feels after just a few hours she is amazed that Todd managed to last as long as he did without feeding – and that he was able to stop before taking all that she had.

As they wait she stares at the strange orifice that throbs so painfully in her right palm, reaches up to touch the viper pits in her cheeks. When she runs her tongue over her teeth she feels small, sharp points and she knows that when she looks into the light now, instead of her pupils shrinking to small dots, they will now and forevermore narrow into black slits.

She is Wraith.

But the hammering of her heart reminds her that in her soul she is still human. Will the queen of this hive accept her as Wraith? As she sees the dart skimming over the horizon towards them, she wonders how long she has to live – as Wraith or human.

**-oOo-**

"I have told her that you were injured and that we are both weak from lack of feeding," Todd tells her as soon as he returns from his audience with the hive queen.

"Did she not ask why you did not feed on me, kill me, since I was already injured?"

"Already you think like a Wraith," he says. The way he says it she knows it is not intended as a compliment. "I told her we are a breeding pair – I had to explain why you are not a queen with your own hive, as well as why I would protect you."

Laurie suddenly doubles over in pain.

"She has offered us food. Come with me. You must feed."

"No, I can't…" Laurie is so weak she can barely speak.

"You must."

Laurie doubles over again and this time hugs her stomach and groans with the pain. "How can you bear this?" she whispers.

In spite of his own weakness Todd scoops her up into his arms and carries her through the corridors of the hive.

When he arrives at the storage chambers he passes Laurie to one of the soldier drones standing guard, who takes her without hesitation, holding her until Todd takes his fill from the cocooned humans.

She lies limply in the arms of the drone, watching Todd feed on one after another until he is strong again.

She remembers that day, years ago now, before their sons were born, when she watched him feed on the Genii guards and thought little of it. But now the sight of it sickens her. Is that because now she knows that she must do the same, or die?

**-oOo-**

When he has taken his fill Todd takes her from the drone and helps her to stand upright.

"You must feed," he tells her.

"No…"

Todd takes her hand, like she had done with him not so long ago, and places her palm flat against the chest of an unconscious and cocooned woman.

"I don't know how…" Laurie whispers weakly, "I can't…"

"You do not need to know how. Just let it happen."

"No…"

But even as she tries to fight it, she knows that the fire within her is burning too fiercely for her to resist and she feels her palm clamp down on her victim's chest of it's own accord.

The rush is like ice cold water flooding down her parched throat; it shocks her awake and upright.

The woman has also been shocked awake and is now screaming but Laurie cannot stop. She struggles with her desire to drain this human dry and her disgust at herself for what she is doing.

Even as she drains the very last drop she finds herself wondering if this woman had a mate, children, what kind of life she had that has now been so abruptly ended.

Laurie rips her hand from the woman's corpse and holds it by the wrist with her other hand, as if it had a will of its own and she were struggling to control it. She holds it up and glares at her bloodied palm.

"Dear gods in heaven, what have I done?" she whispers to herself.

"That will do for now," Todd says flatly and she looks at him in shocked surprise, as if she had forgotten he was there.

"We are both… somewhat bedraggled…" he says, "We should go and clean up now."

Remembering that she is still covered in smears of her own blood from when Todd fed on her, she allows him to lead her back to the rooms they have been quartered in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The queen has ordered that they both accompany the next culling. Todd has already taken all he needs, but Laurie has refused to feed again since her first time, even though she knows as well as he does that she must take more before she can fully recover what he took from her on the Iratus planet.

Instead she bears the pain and would have refused to go on the culling had Todd not convinced her that the queen is suspicious of her and would kill her instantly if she goes against orders.

Todd admires the way Laurie is trying to bear the hunger, but knows that she will not be able to do so for much longer. After being forced to feed on Laurie, he finds that he understands now how torn she feels.

For the first time in all his long, long life he feels disgusted by what he is, with what he has to do just to stay alive.

Todd knows now that they must find a way back to Atlantis.

**-oOo-**

The chaos and destruction overwhelms Laurie. Dozens of darts are flying back and forth overhead, swooping down and beaming up the villagers as they scream and run and try to hide.

Laurie knows she is meant to be working with the other Wraith who are on foot, sending apparitions into people's heads to panic them, then rounding them up as if they were sheep.

But she feels almost as panicked as those running about around her.

She grabs one of them as they pass within arms length and looks deep into his eyes. All she sees in his face is fear and panic and loathing as he looks back into her Wraith face.

She sees his hatred of her simply because of what she is, because of what she must do to survive. Suddenly something inside her head snaps. Almost contemptuously she slams her hand into his sternum and starts to feed voraciously.

The second she drops the dried out husk of the man, she grabs another and another. Snarling and hissing like a rabid dog she descends into nothing short of a feeding frenzy.

The euphoria of feeding is almost as unbearable as the hunger itself was as she feels their energies merge and rush through her body, filling her with life and renewed vigor like a bright light, filling her up until she glows.

Blood runs down her arm as she snares a fourth, and then a fifth, aware that she is taking back all the years and more that she gave up to Todd in order to save his life.

Suddenly she is grabbed from behind and whirled around. She looks up into Todd's eyes and what she sees there stops her in her tracks and brings her instantly back to herself again.

She looks around in a daze, shocked at what she knows she has just done.

"Enough!" Todd roars, seeing in her what he used to be. Holding her tightly in his arms he sinks to the ground with her as she is overcome with deep, racking sobs. "You have taken enough…" he soothes her.

"Is this what it's like?" she sobs, "Has it been like this for you all these thousands of years?"

Todd does not answer her, for to do so would betray his feelings in his broken voice.

But he remembers the red rage that descends when the hunger burns badly and he cannot blame her for it. No, he blames himself, for it was he who made her what she is now.

He should have left her to her dull but safe life on earth all those years ago. What right had he to pluck her from obscurity and drag her across two galaxies to endure this torture of her soul?

"Don't even think it," she says quietly, reading the thoughts in his mind. "I would have followed you to the very ends of the universe, to hell and back again. It was my decision and I do not regret a single moment."

Laurie gulps back her tears and takes a deep breath to calm herself. Looking him straight in the eye she says with a quiet conviction that underlines the truth of her words, "I have loved you all my life, and I always will."

He tightens his hold on her and buries his face in her hair, hiding the tears welling in his own eyes as he does so.

"As I too love you…" he tells her.

There is a moment of silent telepathic comfort between them before he adds, "We must find a way home."

She looks up at him, her yellow reptile eyes red rimmed from days of crying and fighting with herself over what she has had to become. "Home?" she asks.

"Yes, home," he replies. "To Atlantis."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"You're startin' to get into the habit of killin' Wraith queens, there, Todd," Sheppard drawls.

"It wasn't Todd, this time it was me," explains Laurie. She had remembered John Sheppard fondly while she'd been away from Atlantis, but she'd forgotten how much pleasure Sheppard and Todd seem to derive from constantly goading each other.

"Because we didn't have the element of surprise I had to use my telepathy to control the drones first, which then enabled me to kill the queen and take over the hive." Laurie is sitting in the conference room of Atlantis, trying to concentrate on explaining how they got back, but finding it hard not to simply gaze around at the place she now realizes she missed so much.

"And just exactly how did you manage to persuade every officer on the hive to go into hibernation? Was that your Wraith telepathy, too?" asks Woolsey, on edge knowing that not only is Todd now fully Wraith, but Laurie too.

"No, I can't use that to control officers… that was Todd."

Todd grins and adds, "Let's just say that I had to be… creative."

"So, although we have a hive full of feeding Wraith in secure orbit, none of them are conscious?" Woolsey wants to reassure himself.

"Indeed," Todd confirms. "It should be a simple matter of introducing your retro-virus into the hibernation fluid systems before you revive them." Todd looks at the Atlantis crew assembled around the table, picking out Jennifer with his piercing gaze. "And talking of your gene therapy… have you managed to perfect it yet?"

"Well, in so much as every other Wraith we've used it on has been absolutely fine, yes. But I still haven't managed to find out why it didn't work on you."

Todd and Laurie exchange worried glances, not sure if coming back to Atlantis was the right thing to do after all.

**-oOo-**

"I fed on her, John Sheppard," Todd says flatly. He is standing in front of the observation window of the infirmary as Jennifer puts Laurie through preliminary check-ups.

"I know," Sheppard says. Todd looks at him sideways, surprised not only that he knows, but that he seems to be taking it so calmly. "She told me," Sheppard goes on. "She also told me that she made you do it and that you would certainly have died if she hadn't."

"She would say that," Todd replies, "But I should have been able to–"

"I don't think so!" Sheppard interrupts him and turns to look him in the eye. "Me and her, we seem to have some kind of connection now… she made me _understand_ what it's like, the hunger…"

"That will be because I have now fed upon and given the gift of life to both of you. You are connected through me," Todd explains.

"Oh, right, that's interesting…" Sheppard continues, "She says she's amazed you lasted as long as you did and that you managed to stop before…"

"I said I would never feed on her, no matter what, that I would die first."

"Sounds to me like she didn't give you much choice, Buddy," Sheppard says with remarkable understanding. "She's one stubborn woman… em… Wraith. I guess that's why you two go together so well, huh?"

"Indeed." Todd looks at the ground, still crestfallen.

"You don't have to apologize for what you are, Todd."

Todd looks back up at Sheppard, the amazement clear in his face.

"Yeah," Sheppard laughs awkwardly. "I never thought I'd ever hear myself say that either! I know you and her have been through a lot of changes – there's been a lot of changes around here, too, while you were gone."

"More Wraith-human babies being born?" Todd asks.

"Loads of 'em!" Sheppard laughs. "For some weird reason our women seem to really dig you Wraith guys! Don't really understand it myself…" Sheppard suddenly understands what changes Todd really wants to hear about. "Your sons… they're well, really well… though Laurie might be in for a bit of a surprise…"

**-oOo-**

"We don't really understand yet why it's happening," Jennifer tells Todd and Laurie. "But it certainly isn't doing them any harm – all our tests show the children are amazingly healthy."

"But they're no longer children…?" Laurie asks, confused.

"They grow like human children for the first couple of years or so, then their growth through childhood then puberty and into adulthood is greatly accelerated… I don't really understand it fully myself…"

"Wraith children grow in this manner," Todd offers. "It is not… convenient to have many small, helpless children around a hive for very long."

"Hmm…" Jennifer muses. Kenny had told her that as well, about their two daughters. "And they seem to have Wraith regenerative powers, too. My tests suggest that this generation of Wraith-humans will have remarkably long life spans, and I don't see any indication that that will diminish through the generations," Jennifer explains excitedly. "It's like we're creating a new super species…"

Laurie interrupts. "So what you're telling me is that my children, who should be 5 and 4 years old are now adults…?"

"Well, certainly adolescents… it's hard to say biologically, especially when they're likely to live for many hundreds of years…" Jennifer falters under Laurie's impatient gaze. "They look about 20, I guess," she says and then adds, "But then again, so do you! It's going to be a very strange re-union."

"Okie dokie!" Sheppard interrupts, deciding he's had enough science for one day. "I guess you'll be wanting to see Jack and Chris now?"

Todd gives Sheppard that look he seems to keep especially for him and raises one eyebrow.

"What?" Sheppard asks, "She didn't tell you she'd given them human names as well as the Wraith names you gave them?"

"Oh, she told me… how did she put it? Good, strong, masculine, one syllable names – like their father!" Todd replies, trying, not entirely successfully, to hide a wide grin.

"Yeah, right," Sheppard grins back and leads the way out of the infirmary and down the corridor. "Well, _they_ call _you_ 'Dad', hard though that is to imagine! I just can't get used to thinking about you as 'Dad' somehow! In fact there are a helluva lot of pretty weird lookin' dads around Atlantis these days!" Sheppard says with a wry grin.

Todd gives Sheppard a sideways glance as they walk, coincidentally passing a tall slim Wraith carrying a small child with white blonde hair and bright sky-blue eyes looking out from the palest of green skin.

"And some strange looking children, too, I see," Todd observes.

"Yeah," Sheppard agrees, "Guess we'll just have to get used to it – eh, Dad?"

Todd hides his smile with a good-humored grunt.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Laurie's heart aches to see her young sons almost grown. "You won't remember me…?" she asks intrepidly. So much has happened that it almost feels as if twenty years really have passed.

"Of course I remember you, Mom," says Jack, who Laurie remembered as only 3 years old when she left Atlantis 2 years ago. He now stands before her, a young man in his twenties and already almost as tall as his father. And his brother, who was only an infant in arms when she left, is now a handsome if somewhat gangly teenager.

Todd does not seem fazed by this but Laurie is finding it hard to grasp. She feels as if she will have to get to know her own children all over again.

She holds her arms out to them but her eye is drawn instantly to the feeding slit in her right palm. She curls her palm up and draws her hand in to her chest, trying to hide it.

Jack sees this and says, "We know what you did, Mom. And we know that you did it for love of Dad. I'm proud my parents love each other so much. You and Dad, you were the first. If all Wraith and humans love as you do, the galaxy will be a wonderful place some day."

Laurie's sees instantly that the bond she has with her babies is still there; they are the product of the love between her and Todd and so could never be strangers to her, as she had feared. Her eyes tear up and she looks at their sons with overwhelming love and pride.

"And we are proud to have such fine sons who are so wise so young," says Todd, voicing what she is thinking.

The boys step forward and embrace both their mother and their father in turn, until eventually, all four stand together in a single huddled embrace.

**-oOo-**

"How have you coped with your daughters growing up so quickly, Jennifer?" Laurie asks, picking at a bowl of salad for appearances sake as she sits with her old friends in the canteen.

"Well, I have to admit, it's been strange seeing them growing day by day before my eyes. Though I don't suppose it's been as strange as you suddenly seeing your sons twenty years older in only two years! The Wraith fathers are used to it, so that helps a bit."

"And you, Teyla?" Laurie ventures, already knowing the reason why her other friend has been so quiet. "Do you have a Wraith husband?"

Teyla looks off into the distance as she replies, "Not every human woman on Atlantis has fallen under the spell of the Wraith."

"Teyla!" Jennifer chastises. "Don't let her fool you, Laurie – Teyla is the favorite aunt of almost every Wraith-human child on Atlantis!"

"Ah, but all Wraith on Atlantis are non-feeding," Laurie pushes to get to the point. "Unlike me and Todd." Teyla does not answer. "Why does that bother you so much, Teyla?"

"But the retro-virus should work on you, Laurie," Jennifer quickly interrupts, sensing the tension, "And we'll find a way to make it work for Todd this time, really, we will."

"Teyla, you haven't answered me," Laurie says, ignoring Jennifer.

Teyla swings round in her chair and slams her cup down on the table. Several people in the canteen turn to look. Laurie knows why but ignores them all.

"Why does it bother you so much that I've become Wraith?" she pushes.

"Because you were my friend!" Teyla shouts, "And now you are _Wraith_ and I cannot help but think of how many innocent people you have killed just to stay alive!"

"And as a member of the SGA team, Teyla, how many people have you killed for your own survival?" Laurie asks quietly.

"That is not the same!" Teyla replies defensively.

"Isn't it?" Laurie asks. "We're not all that different, you and I, Teyla – you use a gun while I use my hand."

Laurie holds her hand up, palm out, openly showing her feeding slit for the first time since it grew there. She hears a few sharp intakes of breath and addresses everyone in the canteen when she speaks to Teyla. "I can't say I'm exactly proud of what I've become… but I am Wraith now and I refuse to be ashamed of that."

"But we can cure you, Laurie," Jennifer offers, trying to bridge the gap between her two friends.

"Being Wraith is not a disease to be 'cured', Jennifer," Laurie points out. "It's what I am."

**-oOo-**

"Jennifer and I have been perfecting the retro-virus, Mom," Chris tells Laurie, "And we think we're just about there. But it always worked more or less OK except on Dad… and then, of course there's you and I don't know if it'll work on you because you're unique – a Wraith who used to be human…"

"Well, we're going to have to try it eventually," adds Jennifer to Chris, "Your Mom and Dad are almost the only feeding Wraith left in the galaxy."

"Not quite," says Laurie. "When we were on that hive that rescued us from the Iratus planet, Todd realized how many feeding Wraith there still are. You still have a big job ahead of you."

"What's it like, Laurie?" Jennifer asks suddenly. Laurie just looks at her questioningly. "Being Wraith," Jennifer elaborates, "What's it feel like?"

"I don't think I could explain it," Laurie says simply. "I could get inside your head and show you, but I don't think you'd thank me for that, Jennifer."

"That's it!" Chris suddenly shouts.

"What?" Laurie and Jennifer ask in unison.

"That's the answer!" Chris says grinning and looking remarkably like his father.

"It's almost like this was the reason you had to become Wraith, Mom! I think your unique genetic material could be the key to making this retro-virus compatible with all Wraith – even Dad!"

"Oh, my god, Chris! You could be right!" Jennifer adds excitedly. She turns to look at Laurie, smiling. "So, everything you've been through… it was all for Todd after all…"

"It was always all for Todd," Laurie says wistfully.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"But the prophecy was the only reason I went looking for your mother in the first place!" Todd says, bemused. "You were supposed to become King of Wraith and lead us against a great enemy…"

"There_ is_ no 'great enemy', Dad – the Wraith are their own enemy!" Jack says. "These humans from earth are not like any other humans you have ever encountered in the Pegasus galaxy. Feeding Wraith cannot survive even in the same universe as these humans, let alone the same galaxy. Wraith cannot live without humans – but these humans _can_ live without Wraith! If we carry on with the old ways they will surely exterminate us."

"What are you trying to tell me, son?"

"You are the enemy! Unless, that is, you manage to convince all other Wraith that they must change."

"What would you have me do?" Todd asks deferring to the charisma he sees in his son that he knows will one day blossom into true leadership.

"Come with me and convert all Wraith – it is the only way forward, the only way for our race to survive!"

"But Wraith will not survive – with each generation they will be absorbed into the human race. You yourself are not fully Wraith."

"Yes, I am Wraith. But I am also human. Wraith and human will combine and the whole will become greater than the sum of its parts; we will make each other stronger."

"A new species?" Todd mulls over the idea.

"Perhaps. With the worst excesses eliminated and the best strengths multiplied from both races we can come together to create something far bigger and better than anything the universe has ever seen before!"

"It could mean a civil war among Wraith," Todd says.

"Better that than the entire race becomes extinct," Jack says bluntly.

Todd doesn't need telepathy to understand the passion in what his son believes. He can hear it in his voice, see it in his face – and in his heart, Todd has always believed it himself.

**-oOo-**

Todd and Laurie stand side-by-side, leaning on the balcony of their quarters in Atlantis and looking up at the stars.

"And so we are here again, gazing up at the stars together…" Todd says quietly to Laurie.

"The last time seems so long ago now, doesn't it? And yet it was only a few years."

"You have been through much for my sake…"

"And you for mine, Todd," Laurie says as she turns to face him. "And there is still much for you to go through. This mission could end up as a war…"

"I have fought wars before for many reasons, Laurie. I fight this one for the sake of love… if it does come to a war. I can think of no better reason," Todd tells her. "But it will go well, I know it will. We have many good people behind us, both human and Wraith, and we are admirably led by our son." The pride in Todd's voice is unmistakable and makes Laurie smile in spite of her fears.

But her smile is short-lived. "I know it is hard for you, my love," Todd says gently. "You must send three of the four most important men in your life to war, not knowing if you'll ever see any of us again."

"Three?" Laurie says, puzzled. "Only you and Jack; Chris is staying here. Who is the fourth?"

"Me and Jack… and John Sheppard," says Todd. Laurie blushes through the pale green of her Wraith skin. "It is well," Todd says with a slight tilt of his head and not even a hint of jealousy. "The gift of life has connected you and him through me.

"Once this war is won there will be no more feeding Wraith and no more such connections. In the roles we have had to play in our destinies, you and I are the first and you and John are the last. The circle is complete."

"The circle of life, huh?" she says, smiling. But then she sighs deeply. "Sometimes, when I look up at the stars I feel so small."

"No. You and I have started something huge, something that will live on in this universe long after we are both dead and gone."

Todd puts his arms around Laurie as he speaks and she almost feels connected to the entire universe through him.

"I want to beg you not to go but I know you must," Laurie says finding strength and courage as long as Todd holds her in his arms. "But I worry about you leaving when Chris has not yet perfected the retro-virus…" she leaves her fear unspoken; she knows she need not speak it for Todd to understand her meaning.

"I will be alright – you already know how long I can last without feeding. I will be home long before the need becomes urgent."

Laurie hopes and prays that his confidence will be confirmed.

"In the meantime," Todd says brightly, trying to lift Laurie's spirits, "I have something for you…" He walks back into their room and reappears within seconds carrying a plant pot with a tiny tree sapling in it. "Dr McKay tells me this is called a lychee tree," Todd tells Laurie as he gives it to her. "It is a token of my promise to come home to you. If you can wait for me then I will be back to share the fruit – and when I do I will be home for good."

"I'll wait for you forever if I have to," Laurie tells him, her bright amber eyes glistening in the starlight.

Todd takes the plant from her and lays it carefully on the floor, then takes her in his arms. Their kiss holds the passion of all their hopes and fears, as if something in them both already knows it's going to have to last them a very, very long time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The civil war between the Wraith factions did not last for several months like most people thought it would; it has now already been three years. Atlantis has been almost devoid of men, both Wraith and human, and almost all of the hundreds of hives that had orbited Atlantis are at war, along with the Daedalus.

Laurie finds herself being sought out by many of the women who seek comfort and solace from her so that they can go about their daily lives and duties in spite of their worries about their Wraith mates.

She finds counseling others helps to keep her mind off her own worries.

Only when she escapes to the conservatory does she allow herself to give in to her fears for her mate, her son and her friend.

"You miss him too?" Teyla asks one day as she helps Laurie to tend the lychee tree.

"I miss John as a friend," Laurie replies, "But I can sense that you miss him for altogether deeper reasons, Teyla."

"I see the gene therapy has not dulled your Wraith telepathy," Teyla says.

"And your Wraith DNA allowed you to sense that I was thinking of John in the first place!" Laurie smiles as she teases her friend.

Not long after the mission escalated into full civil war, Laurie and Teyla put their differences behind them and renewed their friendship.

"You are right, of course" says Teyla, "My only wish is that I had confessed my feelings to John before he left…"

"He knows how you feel about him, Teyla," Laurie comforts her friend, "And they will come home to us, soon, I am sure."

"I hope that is your Wraith telepathy, Laurie, and not just wishful thinking," Teyla sighs.

Laurie shields her thoughts from Teyla as she hopes the very same thing.

**-oOo-**

Every day the women now in control of Atlantis scour incoming communications for news of how the war is progressing. All of the rebel Wraith hives have been queen controlled and, as the queens are toppled, more and more hives are being brought into orbit around Atlantis and the Wraith inhabitants volunteering to be treated with the gene therapy rather than face extinction.

Most of the new hives stay in orbit, the Wraith either working with the women on Atlantis to keep it protected or even gating to Earth to work on new inter-species projects there and to ensure no rebel wraith hives can breach earth's protection zone.

Some of the hives opt to leave Atlantis and find a planet somewhere that they can call home and settle down on.

In the past three years both Pegasus and the Milky Way have changed beyond all recognition.

**-oOo-**

The young scientist is clearly nervous as she delivers her presentation to Chris and Jennifer. Their reputation as a medical research team back on earth is growing by the day and Vickie desperately wants to impress them… especially Chris.

She'd seen a few full Wraith males as they started to gate back to earth and join various research projects, but she'd never seen a wraith-human half-breed.

She finds it hard to concentrate on what she's supposed to be saying, unable to tear her eyes off Chris, who seems to her to embody everything that is beautiful about both Wraith and human. So it's with relief that she manages to finish up without embarrassing herself too much.

"The soldier drones are difficult to deal with even after the gene therapy, but officer caste wraith have been invaluable in teaching our behavioral scientists telepathic control of them initially until they can be psychologically rehabilitated. Once they have been fully rehabilitated they are indispensable workers – strong, virtually tireless and follow orders without question." Vickie shuffles her papers on the lectern and, seeing Chris smile at her from the corner of her eye, she blushes deeply as she leaves the presentation platform.

**-oOo-**

"There are so many wraith on Atlantis these days," observes Vickie over lunch in the canteen. She's sitting with three of her fellow junior colleagues and Jennifer, Rodney and Chris.

"Yeah, and they're all so hot!" giggles one of her colleagues.

"Oh, good grief, not you too, Susan!" groans Rodney. "What is it with these Wraith that gets all you women so bothered?"

Jennifer smiles, thinking not for the first time today how much she misses Kenny. "Maybe it's pheromones or something, Rodney!"

"And there are so many of them to choose from…" adds Susan.

"Well that's hardly surprising," says Rodney, "Since in the original wraith population males outnumbered females at least 1,000 to one and the war has wiped out every wraith queen in existence, so now there are only males left!"

"Ooh," Susan giggles again, "So they'll all be looking for mates then?"

Rodney groans and rolls his eyes and directs his attention to his lunch.

During this exchange, Vickie has been blushing furiously and trying to keep her eyes lowered. But she can't help the odd glance up to look at Chris and blushes even more deeply when she realizes that he has been watching her the whole time with his deep amber eyes.

Laurie and Teyla approach the table and ask Jennifer if they can join them.

"Of course," Jennifer says, "Move up the table a bit, girls," she says to the three girls as they sit giggling and ogling passing wraith.

"We're finished now," says Susan, "We'll just go and…"

Jennifer laughs indulgently, "Yes, OK girls, you can go and chat up the wraith boys!"

The three rush off in a giggling huddle after a small group of young wraith who look back over their shoulders with come-and-catch-us grins. The three girls give chase like foxes after puppies!

Rodney groans through a mouthful of pie. "God grief, they're rampant, absolutely rampant!" he says, shaking his head.

"Not going with them, Vickie?" Jennifer asks.

"Well… I was… I…"

"I promised Vickie I would show her the view from the main tower of the city…" Chris says, much to Vickie's surprise. "If that's alright with you, Mom," he addresses Laurie as she sits at the table.

"Of course it is, Chris," Laurie says, smiling and catching Vickie's eye. "The view is truly magnificent, Vickie. Have a wonderful afternoon you two."

Teyla watches Chris and Vickie leave the canteen and turns to Laurie, "The next generation, perhaps?" she says.

Laurie smiles indulgently, "I really hope so," she replies, "It would be rewarding to see the sacrifices our generation have made coming to fruition in our children." She emphasizes the word 'sacrifice' a little too heavily.

Teyla covers her friend's hand with her own. "You will see Todd again, Laurie, I am sure of it," she says reassuringly. "As I will see John and you will see Kenny soon, Jennifer." Teyla is not sure which of them she is trying harder to convince.

All three women drink in companionable silence for a few moments, all fervently praying that her words will come true.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Incoming worm hole!"

"It's Colonel Sheppard's signature," says the young blonde woman on duty. "He doesn't say he's coming in hot but his signal is urgent."

Almost in unison, Jennifer, Laurie and Teyla say, "Open the iris!"

The star gate opens and almost the instant the event horizon settles into its watery pool, Sheppard comes running through.

Laurie's heart leaps into her mouth when she sees the look on Sheppard's face. She doesn't realize that she must have swayed on the spot until Jennifer and Teyla take an arm each to support her.

"It's Todd, isn't it?" she asks Sheppard sharply.

"He's alive, but only just," says Sheppard. "He's not good, Laurie."

**-oOo-**

"Todd is now literally The Last Man Standing," Sheppard explains to the assembled crew in the conference room. Chris, Jennifer and Rodney are here with their medical team and Laurie is pacing up and down behind them at the back of the room.

"The good news is that we've won the war – we had confirmation that the last queen controlled hive went down last week. The bad news is that Todd is now the last feeding Wraith left alive, literally the last of his kind,"

Sheppard goes on, his eyes following Laurie's pacing, step for step. "While the war raged at its height, Todd fed on entrenched rebel Wraith to stay alive," Sheppard explains, "But now there are none left. He hasn't fed for months… he's starving… close to death…" his voice trails off; unable to say what he knows will tear Laurie apart.

Laurie turns her back to the room and to Sheppard and puts her hand to her eyes. Sheppard knows she's trying not to cry. He slams his fist on the table in frustration.

Chris stands up and speaks. "We haven't completely perfected the retro-virus yet, but we've come a long way. I say we should give it to Dad now anyway; it's his only hope."

"But our tests aren't complete, Chris," Jennifer says, "The risk is a lot less than it was but it's still high…"

"What other option does he have, Jennifer?" Chris says firmly. He turns to face his mother, who is still standing with her head bowed, her back to them all. "Mom? It's his only chance, Mom."

Sheppard feels himself hold his breath as he watches Laurie turn round in slow motion to face them all. She looks at Jennifer and says, "He'll die for certain without it, so any percentage chance is better than nothing."

Sheppard punches the air and lets his breath out in a relieved "Yes!" He turns to leave the room immediately, calling over his shoulder, "Come on – we can't afford to waste any more time!"

**-oOo-**

Jennifer hands a medical case to Sheppard, "You should have everything you need here; the medical crew on the Daedalus will know what to do," she tells him and hesitates before adding, "I only hope you're not too late."

"He'll be just fine," Sheppard says as he spots Laurie standing apart from the rest, hugging her arms around herself, trying to hold herself together.

She looks up at Sheppard and with complete trust in her eyes says, "Bring him home to me, John."

Sheppard looks back at her and knows now that the connection he has with her through Todd is more precious than any infatuation he ever had of her. In true friendship he tells her, "I won't come back without him. That's a promise."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"I'm glad Mom isn't here to see this."

"She's seen it before, Jack, the first time he took the retrovirus and it made him really sick," says Sheppard as he sits with Jack outside the small infirmary of the Daedalus.

"Yes, I know, but I don't think she could bear to see it again. They've both endured so much…"

"They did it for each other without even having to think about it, they love each other that much. It must be pretty cool to have that…" Sheppard says wistfully.

"Oh, I don't know," Jack smiles, "I've seen the way Teyla looks at you these days…"

"You think so?" Sheppard asks with false modesty, knowing full well that not only does Teyla have feelings for him but that he returns her feelings in full.

Jack reads Sheppard's mind easily and answers, "Once you're back on Atlantis you'll be able to tell her yourself how you feel."

"Can you read everybody's mind as easily as your dad does?" Sheppard laughs.

"Not everyone," Jack laughs back, "Just Mom, Dad and Chris - and my favorite Uncle John!"

"I don't know how happy your father would be to hear you call me that!" Sheppard says.

"It does not make me unhappy," says a deep, gravelly voice from the doorway of the infirmary.

Jack and Sheppard both stand up in unison and turn towards the source of the voice. Todd is standing there, tall and straight, although obviously still very weak.

"After all, John Sheppard – are we not brothers?" Todd holds out his right hand as he says this and both Sheppard and Jack can see the palm is clear.

Jack asks the question they both need answered, "You are well?"

"I am well," Todd replies. "I will be weak for many days but I believe I am past the worst–"

Todd's words are cut off in his surprise as Sheppard steps past Jack and grasps Todd's hand in a firm handshake. Pumping their hands up and down Sheppard grins broadly at Todd, unable to find the words to say, until he eventually slaps his other hand across Todd's back and actually hugs him!

"Boy, am I glad to see you back with us, Buddy!" Sheppard says.

Todd is not entirely sure what to do, but claps Sheppard on the back in return anyway. Sheppard stands back awkwardly and looks down at his feet as he steps from one foot to the other, while Todd simply stares incredulously at him, both suddenly embarrassed at this expression of affection for the wraith who has become his friend.

Jack simply grins at both men and shakes his head in amusement.

**-oOo-**

"Jack's a born leader, Todd," Sheppard says as they get ready to leave the Daedalus and go home to Atlantis.

"Indeed," Todd says without even attempting to hide his pride, "It is a great joy to have sons to be proud of. Something you may yet experience yourself some day, John Sheppard."

"Yeah, right!" Sheppard says, laughing, "One step at a time here – Teyla and me haven't even been on a first date yet!"

"Ah yes, the first date…" says Todd wistfully.

"Yeah, I still remember that day too, like it was just yesterday…" Sheppard shares Todd's reminiscences. "You and Laurie have come a long, long way since then."

"Indeed we have," says Todd, "As have all Wraith and humans," he adds, "And we have a long way still to go. At least my son has, as founder father of a whole new race with a whole new future ahead of them all."

"Yeah, but at least for you and me I think from now on it's gonna be a whole lot more fun than it's been the last eight or so years," Sheppard says, then adds with a sly grin, "Talking of first dates… Did she give out on the first date after all?"

Todd laughs heartily before saying, "A gentleman never tells…"

Sheppard nudges Todd's elbow and says, "Just between brothers…" "No," says Todd, "She made me wait a whole week!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Incoming worm hole!"

"It's Kenny's signature!" Jennifer shouts. Openly showing her own relief and happiness she turns to speak to several other female Atlantis staff and adds, "They're all coming home!"

As Jennifer and the others jog excitedly down the stairs from the control room to the gate, the wormhole opens. The watery pool of the event horizon stabilizes and Kenny and four other Wraith walk through the gate – and are virtually knocked off their feet as they are enthusiastically greeted by their women!

Behind them dozens of male Wraith start appearing through the gate, more and more until there's a steady stream of them. Almost all of them are greeted with open affection by human women who are pouring through the corridor to the gate room, which is now swarming with Wraith males and human females. They gradually pair off and wander away down the corridors, eager and excited to start planning their futures together.

Lorne and Rodney are standing at the top of the stairs looking down from the control room.

"Bet you never thought you'd ever see a sight like that!" says Rodney.

"You're right there, Rodney," says Lorne. "Ever felt like you were completely redundant?"

"Yeah," says Rodney bleakly, "Just what is it these Wraith guys have anyway, that's what I'd like to know!"

Lorne laughs heartily. "Maybe one day we'll find out, then you can bottle it and splash it on all over, Rodney!"

"Eeeuuww!" says Rodney.

**-oOo-**

Laurie stands behind all the Lantean women, watching dozens, no hundreds, of Wraith men coming home from the war to either settle down with their existing families or find mates and create new families.

She stands with her hands clasped, discreetly scratching the palm of her right hand with the clawed fingers of her left hand. Where the feeding slit used to be itches from time to time, but her younger son, Chris assures her that even this will pass.

She eagerly searches the Wraith faces as they pour through the gate, looking for the only two she needs to see: her son, Jack and her – what, her husband? No, he is far more to her than that – her soul mate, Todd.

Suddenly her heart leaps! Jack! She makes to push through the throng of bodies but sees that Jack has spotted her and is pushing his way through to her.

As he does she can see that he has been changed by this war. He is tall and confident, every inch a leader as the other Wraith stand aside respectfully to let him through. If it were possible he is even more imposing than his father.

This man, this half human-half Wraith, who is her son, her first born, her baby… he is the founder of a whole new race with an entire universe at his feet.

Laurie swallows hard to clear the lump of pride in her throat.

Jack stops about a foot away from her and bows his head respectfully. Laurie can't help smiling and as she does so, Jack lets go of all polite convention, throws his arms around his mother and hugs her tightly.

"It's good to be home, Mom!" he tells her. "We've won the war but there is much to do – we'll all be very busy for a very long time!" His laughter rings out deep and true and reminds her so much of his father's – laughter that she has not heard for so long and yearns so much to hear again.

"Your father?" she asks with trepidation, "He is not with you?"

"Ah," Jack says and Laurie's heart sinks. He had promised to say nothing to his mother yet. "He is still on the Daedalus, Mom. He's taken the new gene therapy and it's… it may be a while before he's well enough to travel. John has stayed behind with him…"

**-oOo-**

Unable to bear the waiting and the possibility that Todd might not make it Laurie heads to the conservatory to nurse her tree and her hopes.

Jennifer finds her there and tries to comfort her. "The preliminary tests were hopeful, Laurie," she says. "Chris really is the most brilliant medical scientist I've ever known and he's confident it will work."

"I too have every faith in my son – and in you, Jennifer," Laurie says as she hugs her friend. She turns and walks towards the lychee tree that Todd had given her before he went to war.

"Do you know, Jennifer, that in the three years of war, even though I have tended and cosseted this tree, every year it has produced the most beautiful blossom, but never has it ever produced any fruit…"

Laurie stops suddenly as she walks through the conservatory. There, in its special niche, is her lychee tree – and there, where she had not seen them before, two perfectly plump and ripe fruits hang heavily from one branch, nestled together and growing from one stem.

She turns excitedly to show Jennifer, but it's not Jennifer who's behind her, it's Sheppard.

"John!" she says, surprised and excited and unbearably afraid of what he might have to tell her.

Sheppard simply steps aside and says, "I kept my promise, Laurie; I brought him home to you."

In the doorway stands a tall and familiar figure, one she feared she might never see again, and so dear to her that she feels she may faint from the overwhelming joy of simply looking upon his face again after so long.

"I told you I would be back to share the fruit. Is it ready yet?" Todd beams at her as he holds his arms out to her – the palm of his right hand is unblemished and his beautiful reptilian eyes are clear and bright and healthy.

"Oh yes, it's ready!" she says, love shining bright in her sparkling amber eyes as she runs into his arms. "Welcome home, my love!"

**THE END**


End file.
